Who are Coroners

In Nunavut, Coroners are individuals appointed by the Minister of Justice. They receive specialised training for coroners and report to the Chief Coroner for Nunavut. Coroner’s investigates deaths that occur under certain circumstance as defined in the Nunavut Coroners Act.

The tasks performed by the Coroner are diverse. However, the educational background of the appointees varies significantly. The Nunavut Coroners' System is made up of people from every community and all walks of life. The common thread for each Coroner is that they are respected members of their communities. The modern Coroners' Program is a partnership between the Coroners, the RCMP Officers, medical and legal experts all are operating in the public interest.

The Coroner's System, for organizational and administrative purposes, falls within the Department of Justice. Supervision of the system is the responsibility of the Chief Coroner.

Coroner’s job is to look into the circumstances of a sudden, unexplained, violent or unnatural death. This may require a post mortem examination, sometimes followed by an inquest. Through their investigation, a Coroner will decide whether a death was due to natural or unnatural causes.